Monday, June 27, 2011

It’s tough going shopping with Ash because he can always find the nerdiest, most fanboyish items right away. There’s a certain pair of Flash underwear that Ash pines for every time we go to the store. Even though Ash says they’re the “fastest briefs alive,” he’s not fast enough to sneak them into the cart. Thank goodness!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Ash and I love Halloween. We hosted our first Halloween party in my dorm room and made everyone wear costumes while we watched scary movies and ate a lot of candy. Every year since then, our parties have gotten bigger and more elaborate. It’s gotten to the point that we’ll pick our theme for the next Halloween almost a year in advance. Some of our past parties have included “Prom Queen of the Damned,” “Arabian Frights,” and “We’re Dying to Have You Over…”

I knew that sooner or later Ash would want a Ghostbusters party since that was his favorite movie as a child, and he’s been pining for his long lost plastic proton pack. So, this year is The Year. Of course my husband wants to be Bill Murray’s character, which will require coveralls, a Ghostbusters patch, and a proton pack.

I usually make our costumes every year, so that leaves me with the task of making a proton pack. At first I told Ash I’d make him one out of papier-mâché, and he scoffed at my idea. I guess he forgot that I have an art degree and spent many years in sculpture classes. He also saw way too many pictures of proton pack replicas made by übernerds on the internet to want a sculpted one. He thought he might buy one until he discovered they cost $1,500, so he changed his mind and decided a papier-mâché one will be good enough. We also had a discussion that even if I spend a few hundred dollars on supplies and spend the entire summer building one, it’s still not going to catch ghosts.

A friend of Ash’s also wanted a proton pack, so his wife and I got together this week to begin construction. I started by drawing the layout on a piece of cardboard. Next, I cut up cardboard boxes and paper towel rolls and glues and taped them in place. I also added various other pieces, such as film cases, dowels, scraps of wood, and other random bits. My goal is to spend as little money on this project as possible and clear out some junk in my craft bin.

My friend built up hers too, but her attention span waivered and decided that her husband wasn’t as dorky as mine and didn’t need an exact copy. When she called him to ask if it was okay, she said that it will still have the main parts like the cyclotron, the crank generator, and the ectoplasmic reticulum.

After the armatures were complete, we started the first papier-mâché layer. We used cornstarch paste, which I think is the best glue of this type of project. It’s easy to make, it’s smooth, and it keeps for awhile in a plastic container. To make cornstarch paste, just put a little bit of the powder in a small pan and stir in cold water. Heat it up the stove and stir it until it turns thick like gravy sans-flavor.

I think we made pretty good progress after one day, but I can see it’s going to take awhile to get these complete. I’m glad I started early!

Monday, June 20, 2011

There are a lot of changes happening at DC, and Ash has been complaining about them like a proper fanboy. His main complaint is that since DC Comics is changing everything they’re basically sending the message that everything that current fans like is stupid. Finally, DC confirmed my belief that everything my husband likes is stupid.

One of the big changes is that Superman is no longer going to be sporting his undies on the outside of his tights. I guess Ash has super-underwear for no reason… or he has to wear them under his pants like a normal person at least.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Ash went against his better judgment and took me with him to see Green Lantern at midnight. He wore his Green Lantern t-shirt and sweatshirt. He has also been using his Green Lantern keychain. After we got in the theater, Ash took out his plastic ring and put it on conveniently on the side furthest from me so I couldn’t take it away despite my poking. He said that all the other nerds were wearing them so he should wear his too. There were over a dozen other fanboys wearing Green Lantern shirts, and the one closest to us also wore his plastic ring. There was only one woman that wore a Green Lantern shirt. There were two other women in the cinema, and they sat in front of us and sent text messages during the entire movie.

So, in the tradition of many other nerds before me who have internet access and a lack of disregard for others, I am going to spoil the plot! However, I was busy eating as much candy as possible and daydreaming so I probably won’t get all the details correct.

So, Green Lantern began with the primordial booger, which was the first joke I made that made Ash mad. He shushed me and tried to ignore me the rest of the film. Next, a big ugly head trapped in green Jell-O sucked the skeletons out of a few aliens. I think the bad guy was named Pair-of-Pants. The big ugly head turned out to have a tarantula body, and so he went after a Green Lantern without any skin. The skinless Lantern got shot in the shoulder and escaped to Earth. His dying wish was that his ring would find a new owner, which was the unshaven Hal “High Balls” Jordan. Ash particularly liked that they used Hal’s nickname when he was flying.

Anyway, Hal became the Green Lantern by unleashing the ring’s magical green power. He even got a skin-tight CGI suit that reminded me of that episode of The Simpsons when Ned Flanders is wearing the skin-tight ski suit. It’s the one that makes Ned feel like he’s “wearing nothing at all.” It’s the suit that makes Homer lament, “Stupid sexy Flanders,” which was another joke that my husband did not appreciate! The only jokes he liked were the ones in the movie that only he and the other dorks in Green Lantern shirts understood.

Hal got mad because the other aliens picked on him and so he quit and went back to Earth. He didn’t mope around at home too long because the Hunchback of Notre Dame gained psychic powers and picked a fight with Hal. There was a lot of fighting, including mystical green weapons and such. None of the other Green Lanterns wanted to help Hal, so he has to fight the Hunchback (who actually got his power from Pair-of-Pants) by himself.

While Hal was fighting the Hunchback, the big ugly Pair-of-Pants himself made an appearance to destroy the Earth. His plan was to suck the skeletons out of the human race one at a time, which gave Hal plenty of time to fight. After fighting on Earth, Hal lured the beastly tarantula into outer space. Ash loved this part; he was giddy though all of the action sequences. After the movie was over, he claimed that he could hear me rolling my eyes during the fighting scenes. Anyway, the Green Hal tricked the evil alien to get sucked into the gravitational pull of a sun. The special effects at this point were particularly terrible. It looked like someone flung an action figure in the air and filmed it in slow motion. I thought it was funny, but I was the only person giggling.

So, the other Green Lanterns saved the day and they’re all best friends and lived happily ever after. Oh, except for the guy with red skin who looked like the devil Pitch from Santa Claus. During the credits he put on a yellow ring and became evil for the sequel.

By the way, I ate a giant box of Junior Mints, half a box of Mike and Ikes, and ¾ of a bag of gummy worms. (I snuck all the candy in my tiny purse too, so I had to take out everything save my keys. At $9 a ticket, who can afford a $5 box of candy?)

Monday, June 13, 2011

To say Ash is excited about the upcoming Green Lantern movie would be an understatement. He wears his Green Lantern apparel more often than usual, he carries around a Green Lanternkeychain, and he visits his Lantern ring shrine quite often. Also, anytime we pass by the t-shirts at any clothing store he pines for more Green Lantern attire. If he wouldn’t waste all his money on comics and their specialty packaging, he’d probably buy us matching t-shirts to wear to the movie.

When I flipped the calendar page to June I saw that Ash had marked the date for the movie. He did that with Thor too. On Thursday, May 5th at about 11:30 at night, Ash woke me up. He was rummaging around in our bedroom and I thought he was just trying to find comics to read or perhaps his Ghostbusters pajama pants so he could go to bed. Oh no, he came to wake me up to tell me he was going to see the midnight showing of Thor. Knowing I wasn’t going to get up and go to the movie, he invited me to come along. I told him that the only way I would go is if I could wear giant Viking horns and sit in the front. He told me, “No,” so I went back to sleep.

Since Ash went to Thor by himself he could splurge for the 3-D version. He wasn’t all that impressed. He said the glasses were dirty and the effects weren’t all that amazing. He even went to the cinema wearing his contacts in anticipation for the glasses, but he said he got annoyed and took out his lenses in the theater and wore the 3-D spectacles over his regular ones. It didn’t make any difference. So, at least I won’t have to go to any 3-D movies anytime soon. However, I don’t think I’ll get out of “enjoying” the Green Lantern experience this week.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Free Comic Book Day is the gift that keeps on giving. When Ash got this latest shipment of comics, his FCBD stuff was included. Not only did Ash get new comics, but he also got a tiny Green Lantern doll. To me, it looks like he’s giving “the finger” with his superpowers. Ash said that it’s the magic from his lantern ring. The toy also rotates and clicks. I thought it was for sending secret messages, but I was wrong again. Ash said it’s some sort of game. That sends a pretty clear message: “I love the Green Lantern and am the biggest nerd in the world!”

Friday, June 3, 2011

A friend of mine is getting married to a fanboy of her own! I recently got their save the date notification, and I have to admit that it’s pretty cool. My friend’s fiancé loves Indiana Jones and draws cartoons, so he drew the picture and she did the graphic design elements. I can’t wait to see the official wedding invitation!